Picker stick check for looms



Aug' 30 1966 J. c. cRocKER PICKER STICK CHECK FOR LOOMS Filed sept. 29, 1964 l l NVENTOR JOHN C, CROCKER United States Patent 3,259,427 PICKER STICK CHECK FOR LOOMS John C. Crocker, Box 102, Ware Shoals, S.C. Filed Sept. 29, 1964, Ser. No. 399,988 2 Claims. (Cl. 139-165) This invention relates to improvements in picker stick checks `for looms. Y

An object of the invention is to provide a picker stick check whose operation will tend to maintain the picker stick on a proper line of movement while checking the stick in an even and uniform manner on each pick of the loom.

Another object of the invention is to provide a picker stick check which is adjustable and wherein the end portions of the check strap are protected in a novel manner.

Another object is to provide a picker stick check whose construction and operation can withstand the severe vibration caused by the picker stick in a more certain manner than the prior art.

Another important object is to provide a picker stick check whose mechanical parts are free acting with a minimum of friction.

Still another object is to provide a picker stick check which is reliable and efcient in operation, economical to manufacture, and easy to install on the loom without the necessity for altering conventional loom structure.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent during the course of the following description.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of th's application and in which like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the same,

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a picker stick check embodying the invention,

FIGURE 2 is a somewhat enlarged fragmentary plan view partly in section and parts broken away,

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged fragmentary transverse vertical section taken on line 3-3 of FIGURE 2, and

FIGURE 4 is an exploded perspective view of a check strap end and shield therefor.

In the drawings, wherein for the purpose of illustration is shown a preferred embodiment of the invention, the check unit embodying the invention comprises a bearing or guide tube having a longitudinal cylindrical through bore 11 receiving slidably for free reciprocation therein a strap carrying rod 12. The guide tube 10 is equipped at its longitudinal center with a preferably integral bracket part 13 adapted to mate with and being detacha'bly rigidly secured to a conventional support bracket 14 carried by the lay of the loom, not shown. The bracket part 13 has a horizontal slot 15 formed therethrough to register adjustably with an opening 16 in conventional bracket 14, whereby suitable bolt means, not shown, may be employed to rigidly connect bracket part 13 and bracket 14. The bracket part 13 constitutes an integral platelike enlargement on the guide tube 10 near the longitudinal center thereof, as shown. The bracket part 13 is disposed vertically during the use of the check device, as shown in the drawings. Through the medium of bracket 14, the entire guide tube 10 is fixed rigidly to the lay of the loom.

The opposite ends of the guide tube 1t) have enlarged liat abutment plates 17 formed integral therewith and corresponding sides of these heads are cut away or squared off at 18 to assure adequate clearance for the passage of the picker `stick 19, FIGURE 2. The picker stick moves relatively close to one side of the guide tube 10 during the loom operation as shown in FIGURE 2. Relatively thick resilient abutment pads 20 of rubber or the like are xedly secured to the outer faces of abutment plates 17 and these pads are preferably somewhat larger than the plates 17, as shown in the drawings. They are also cut 3,269,427 Patented August 30, 1966 ice away or squared olf at 21 to allow for passage of the picker stick adjacent thereto without interference.

The rod 12 which reciprocates bodily within the fixed guide tube 10 during operation of the check has a preferably hex head 22 and Hat washer 23 at one end thereof and a removable large resilient 'washer or pad 24 is mounted on the rod 12 immediately inwardly of the washer 23. The washer 24 is formed of rubber or the like. The opposite end portion of the rod 12 is screwthreaded as shown at 25 to `adjustably receive a. main nut 26 having a broad flat washer 27 and a lock nut 28, outwardly of the nut 26. Immediately inwardly o-f the main nut 26 another resilient pad or washer 29 or rubber or the like, identical to the :washer 24, is mounted on the rod 12 to absorb shock as will be further described.

The check unit further comprises a leather check strap 30 arranged as a half loop upon one side of the rod 12 and guide tube 10 and serving to confine and limit movement of the picker stick 19 in a generally well-known manner during loom operation. The check strap 30 has reduced rectangular terminal ends 31 integral therewith having central openings 32 to receive the rod 12 as clearly shown in FIGURE 2.

To protect and reinforce each strap end 31 and substantially covering all surfaces and edges thereof are leather shields 33, each having a socket passage 34 to receive the strap end 31 snugly and removably therein. Each shield 33 has an outer generally rectangular leather side Wall 35 and an inner side wall 36 having a free guide extension 37 which bears the direct impact of the picker stick 19 and tends to prevent the picker stick from twisting or moving out of proper alignment at the moment of impact. The side walls 35 and 36 are separated by spacers 38 formed of leather and the parts are securely connected in assembled relation by rivets 39 or the like. Each shield 33 has a central opening 40 formed entirely through its two walls 35 and 36 and adapted to register with the strap opening 32, when the strap end is within the passage 34 and the strap shoulders 41 are engaged against the adjacent ends of spacers 38. The thus registering openings 32 and 40 receive the rod 12 rather loosely and have no binding action with the rod. In fact, none of the several parts on the rod 12 with the exception of the threaded nuts 26 and 28 have any binding or frictional engagement therewith and all of the parts on the rod as shown in FIGURE 2 are freely slidable thereon longitudinally and circumferentially. The two shields 33 and associated strap ends 31 and opposite ends of the unit are identical and the description need not be repeated. The shields 33 `are readily removable and may be replaced after wear without necessitating replacing of the entire check strap.

The operation of the picker stick check is as follows:

The unit is installed by connecting the bracket part 13 with the conventional bracket 14, as described. The bracket part 13 and the squared olf edges 18 and 21 are vertical, as shown. The check strap 30 with its replaceable shields 33 is mounted upon the rod 12. The strap ends and shields are disposed between the pairs of resilient pads 24)-24 and 20-29 as shown. A nut 26 is adjusted to regulate somewhat the length of the strap loop and may be locked by the nut 28.

Upon each pick of the loom, the shuttle is propelled across the lay with great force by one of the picker sticks and is then returned in the opposite direction by the remote picker stick on the next pick. The picker stick at each side of the loom must be checked and the invention unit accomplishes this checking in an improved manner. The entire guide tube 10 including the bracket part 13 is stationary. The entire rod 12 and the strap ends mounted thereon is bodily movable longitudinally in opposite directions as indicated by the arrows in FIG-URE 2. When the picker stick approaches one end of its travel, FIGURE 2, it will engage the adjacent shield portion 37 and the entire check strap assembly and the rod 12 will move bodily in one direction until the shield 33 at the opposite end of the unit abuts the fixed resilient pad 20. This abutment positively limits the movement of the rod 12 and checks or cushions the movement abruptly and the check strap itself then functions in the usual manner to firmly check the movement of the picker stick.

Upon reverse movement of the picker stick, not shown in the drawings, the stick will engage the remote strap shield 33 and shift the entire rod 12 and strap in the opposite direction, or to the left in FIGURE 2, until the shield 33 abuts the resilient pad 20 on the adjacent end of the guide tube 10. This instantly arrests movement of the rod 12 in the opposite direction and allows the check strap to complete the checking of the picker stick.

The resilient pads or washers 20, 24 and 29 help to absorb shock and vibration induced by the picker stick and the free reciprocating movement of the rod 12 with very little friction renders the check uniform or evenacting in its checking movement. In effect, the free moving rod 12 allows the sturdy strap 30 to complete the checking operation in a most uniform manner upon each pick. It is desirable not to have any substantial friction or braking action on the rod 12 and to have the same free moving within the guide tube and this is the essence of the present invention. The actual checking, therefore, is through the medium of the abutment pads Z0, etc., the strap shields 33 and the check strap 30. The arrangement is distinguished and contrasted with certain prior art arrangements Iwhere a rod member is held stationary upon the lay and a check strap shifts bodily along the rod. Such arrangements have been found not to provide the uniform checking eect of the present unit, apparently due to uneven `and changing frictional engagement of the strap with the fixed rod. The invention is also in contrast with certain prior art schemes where braking means are employed or friction means to retard the movement of a movable rod carrying a check strap. Such a prior art scheme is shown in U.S. Patent 2,936,794 and this invention is intended to be an improvement thereover. Prior art patents which show a xed guide rod and movable strap assembly thereon are Patents 3,114,397 and 3,126,922. This invention is also intended to be an improvement upon and over these prior patents.

In light of the prior art and above ydetailed description, it is believed that the advantages of this invention and its mode of operation will be fully apparent to those skilled in the art without the necessity for any further description.

It is to be understood that the form of the invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same, and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to, without departing from the spirit of the invention or scope of the subjoined claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1 A picker stick checking device for a loom comprlsing an elongated substantially rigid guide member adapted to be ixedly secured to a bracket on the lay of the loom and extending substantially horizontally `during use, a rod of considerably greater length than said guide member freely slidably engaging the guide member substantially without friction and being freely reciprocable longitudinally on the guide member in opposite directions and adapted to project alternately beyond opposite ends of the guilde member yduring reciprocation, a check strap for the picker stick extending as an elongated loop upon one side of the guide member and rod and having end transverse portions disposed in the path of movement of the picker stick to check the movement of the picker stick, said end transverse portions of the check strap having openings receiving said rod, and means on said rod near the opposite ends thereof for securing said end transverse portions to the rod, whereby the check strap is bodily carried by the rod and moves therewith bodily during said free reciprocation of the rod in response to movement of the picker stick so as to cause smooth and uniform checking of the picker stick at all times during loom operation.

2. The invention as defined by claim 1, and wherein said guide member is a tube having a bore and said rod extends entirely through said bore, and resilient abutment faces on the opposite ends of said tube.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,255,635 2/1918 Prosser 139-165 2,855,004 10/1958 Shivell 139-165 2,884,961 5/1959 Plante et al. 139-166 2,936,794 5/1960 Shivell et lal. 139-165 3,005,470 10/1961 Carter 139-165 3,126,922 3/1964 Rand-lett et al. 139-165 MERVIN STEIN, Primary Examiner.

DONALD W. PARKER, Examiner.

I. KEE CHI, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A PICKER STICK CHECKING DEVICE FOR A LOOM COMPRISING AN ELONGATED SUBSTANTIALLY RIGID GUIDE MEMBER ADAPTED TO BE FIXEDLY SECURED TO A BRACKET ON THE LAY OF THE LOOM AND EXTENDING SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTALLY DURING USE, A ROD OF CONSIDERABLY GREATER LENGTH THAN SAID GUIDE MEMBER FREELY SLIDABLY ENGAGING THE GUIDE MEMBER SUBSTANTIALLY WITHOUT FRICTION AND BEING FREELY RECIPROCABLE LONGITUDINALLY ON THE GUIDE MEMBER IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS AND ADAPTED TO PROJECT ALTERNATELY BEYOND OPPOSITE ENDS OF THE GUIDE MEMBER DURING RECIPROCATION, A CHECK STRAP FOR THE PICKER STICK EXTENDING AS AN ELONGATED LOOP UPON ONE SIDE OF THE GUIDE MEMBER AND ROD AND HAVING END TRANSVERSE PORTIONS DISPOSED IN THE PATH OF MOVEMENT OF THE PICKER STICK TO CHECK THE MOVEMENT OF THE PICKER STICK, SAID END TRANSVERSE PORTIONS OF THE CHECK STRAP HAVING OPENINGS RECEIVING SAID ROD, AND MEANS ON SAID ROD NEAR THE OPPOSITE ENDS THEREOF FOR SECURING SAID END TRANSVERSE PORTIONS TO THE ROD, WHEREBY THE CHECK STRAP IS BODILY CARRIED BY THE ROD AND MOVES THEREWITH BODILY DURING SAID FREE RECIPROCATION OF THE ROD IN RESPONSE TO MOVEMENT OF THE PICKER STICK SO AS TO CAUSE SMOOTH AND UNIFORM CHECKING OF THE PICKER STICK AT ALL TIMES DURING LOOM OPERATION. 